Friday, February 9, 2018

Well, my survey showed that people are overwhelmingly in favor of my retirement. I don't know how I feel about that. Is it because they don't like reading what Francesca and I write or is it because they love me and want to see me sleep as much as I want. I can fret about it or just work on planning my retirement party. Since I have some beach time coming up and LOVE TO WRITE ABOUT IT, I can't retire quite yet. But I have a date! Countdown with me to the BIG PARTY!

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Hi, it's me, Cinnamon. Sometimes I just like to sleep. And then there's
Francesca... all she wants to do is bark and play. So no one does much
blogging unless we go on a trip. I really enjoy sharing my thoughts and
life on Facebook. It's easier for an old dog. So.... should I retire from blogging? What do you think?

Sometimes I really want to sleep.... and not be a world
famous blogger.

Saturday, January 27, 2018

Hi. It's me Francesca. I've fully recovered from my recent dental cleaning and so can tell you all about it.

First of all, I don't know what Cinnamon was talking about in her story. I think she made most of it up! I also went to Forever Pet Dental here in Vancouver but here's what happened to me!

Starving to Death

The first thing I have to say about dental cleaning day is that I don't like it. Why? I didn't get any breakfast. Nada! I was allowed to have water, though. Now coonhounds are creatures of habit and my habit is breakfast when I get up in the morning. Instead, I was told to get ready to leave for the dental office. So I jumped in the back of the car because that's what I do. Usually it means I'm going to day care or to the dog park so I don't mind. But that day was different.

First One in the Dental Office

Well, it was only 7:15 when we went in to the dental office. They were really nice to me but didn't give me any treats. My owner had to sign some papers. I still didn't know what the office was all about. It didn't look like my vet's office so I didn't get scared. After a few minutes some other dogs came in. I didn't like it when the big one opened the door. So they waited until I was put into a room with my owner. I guess I scared them!

This is where I went.

In the room my owner and the vet tech talked. I still didn't know what it was all about. Soon they took me back and I guess my owner left.

I got weighed, had my "glamor shot" taken and then they put me in a cage. I watched the other dogs do the same thing. Hmmmm. A cage. But I didn't stay in the cage long. They came to get me and shaved a patch of fur off my leg. What the heck? I soon found out. They stuck a needle in my leg!

This is what they call my Glamor Shot! But that wasn't the only shot I got!

.......................................

And then I woke up. When I woke up I was really drowsy and kinda dizzy. I don't know what happened. But they petted me and called my name and soon I was walking around, sniffing for treats and smiling at the office staff. They took me outside to walk a little and go potty.

They all told me how good I had been. Good at what, I thought. I didn't remember anything at all.

Before and After Shots - The Big Reveal

Soon my owner came and they showed her these pictures. These were labeled before:

You can see the calculus on my teeth and I had some sore gums.

These really needed a cleaning!

These were labeled after:

This shows how beautiful and white my teeth ended up.

This shows how weird and crooked my teeth are. I have a severe over bite.

So now I put two and two together. I had a dental cleaning. My teeth did feel a little sore but mostly I was very hungry!

After the consultation with the veterinarian, we gathered all the papers and went home and then... I GOT TO EAT DINNER!

After that I went to sleep and slept very, very well. The next day I felt better and asked Cinnamon why she wrote the article about space aliens because I sure never saw any at the dentists office!

Sunday, December 17, 2017

I was so excited. We packed for the beach and my things were
included. My dog food, supplements, bone, leash and rain coat. It was all
there. We were going to Lincoln City to hunt for Glass Floats. I'm sure I
wouldn't be the only one hunting but I figured I'd have the best nose for it!

Finders Keepers Glass Floats

What I found out was, the Lincoln City Convention and
Visitors Bureau hides beautiful glass floats on beaches from mid-October
through Memorial Day. And dogs like me can hunt them. And if we find one we get
to keep it! I was told you had to hunt between the tide line and the grassy
embankments on the beaches at Lincoln City.

But I had my hunting territory all planned out. I was headed
for one of my favorite places - Siletz Bay.

Dog Friendly Looking Glass Inn

Now I've been to this wonderful beach before and I've
luxuriated at The
Looking Glass Inn, but this time I had a real mission. I was determined to
find that float.

My home away from home at the Beach!

Last time I was at The Looking Glass Inn, it wasn't near
Christmas. But this year we went in December and I got to see the decorations
and look under their Christmas tree for something really nice.

We arrived at the inn and I knew where I wanted to go...
directly to the office! You see, I had great memories of the nice people at the
reception desk who were just waiting to give me a treat, a linens basket and a
nice cushy bed.

I think of the pet-friendly service at The Looking Glass Inn
as concierge-level service. The dogs come before the people. But the time my
owner could even sign in, I had my treat and was headed to check things out
under their tree. After all, the Christmas tree had unwrapped dog toys and
treats just waiting for an assertive little Coonhound like me! It didn't matter
that the tree was really for dogs who were there for Christmas. I was
determined to make a fool of myself.

I made a beeline for the tree. This tree was a dog's dream... treats, toys and more.

Since they were so nice, they offered me a toy if I would
back off from the tree. I selected a beautiful hot pink squeaky toy.

They gave me this hot pink toy!

Finally, after I caused all the commotion, my owner signed
in and we got our dog linen basket and big round cushy dog bed. And, of course,
they were hoping I would leave quietly so they gave me yet another treat.

Should I be offended that they said I'd do anything for a treat?

Once we were in the room, my owner put the round bed down
and I checked it out.

Dog friendly luxury!

We looked in the basket and guess what was there? There
was a laminated page of dog rules (which I promptly ignored,) sheets to cover
the human bed in case I wanted to sleep there, towels, dog poop bags, dog bowls
and... you guessed it... MORE TREATS!

The basket!

We settled in and unpacked. I took a brief nap since there
wasn't much for me to do.

To The Beach

After I rested up for a bit I checked out the Finders Keepers website and
learned that the floats I would be hunting were handcrafted glass floats made
by local artisans. Float Fairies drop 3,000 of them on the beach. You never
know where or when. But with my hound nose, I was certain I would find
one.

We headed over to the beach. It's practically right outside
our door at the inn. I sniffed around the picnic area, up on the wall and then headed for the
driftwood. I was certain I'd find one wedged in between the logs. I also looked
in the grass.

No floats here!

Well, our afternoon wasn't too successful. I sniffed the air
and smelled some seals over on the sandy bank across the river. I remembered
those guys from one of my previous trips. I heard that aside from the Sea
Lion Caves near Florence or the Bayfront in Newport, it's the closest you can
get to to them. Last time they were swimming in the bay, bobbing up and down,
and giving me the eye. This time they kept to themselves across the bay and made
a lot of noise.

The seals were WAY over there and didn't mess with me.

By 4:30 it was time for sunset. Sunset comes mighty early in
the winter in Oregon. But I don't mind because I was looking forward to dinner
in my luxury room and a nice snooze on my cushy bed.

My owner went out to dinner at the nearby Inn at Spanish Head and
enjoyed some salmon and forgot to bring me any. We Coonhounds don't forget
these things!

You Gotta Get Up Early to Catch the Floats

It was pretty early, maybe about 5 a.m. and I thought I
heard the Float Fairies outside. I got up and woke my owner up. She wasn't too
pleased but got dressed and took me out. The first thing I heard was some
hissing and screeching. I nearly took off chasing those feral cats but my owner
held me back and told me to quit baying. I guess it wasn't the Float Fairies
after all.

We went back to the room until it began to get light out. It
was almost light enough to see the glass floats on the beach. So I had
breakfast and went out again. It was beautiful. The tide was rushing into the
bay and we could see the waves breaking in the distance. It was peaceful as the
pink sunrise came over the mountain. The sliver of a moon was still in the dark
sky as dawn broke.

Dawn on Siletz Bay

We enjoyed a nice long walk. In about a half hour there were
other people out there with dogs. I kind of wanted to get off my leash and play
with them. But I also kinda wanted to search for glass floats. I looked under
logs. I looked in the bushes and I looked in the grass. Drat! I couldn't find them.

I looked everywhere!

We needed to warm up so went back to the room and planning
some visits for the morning. We wanted to see one place where they actually do
the glass blowing and sell art glass. So we headed down the road to the Jennifer Sears Art Glass Studio.
I wasn't sure if they were dog friendly or not so stayed in the car and looked
at the fancy blown glass balls in the window. They were pretty but I wanted to
find my own on the beach.

I saw these beautiful glass orbs in the window of the Jennifer Sears Art Glass Studio. Wow!

Finders Keepers

I was getting mighty tired of sightseeing so was happy when
we went back to the inn and headed for the beach. I went down to the water and
found some agates.

I stayed away from the waves and found agates on the beach.

At that point I walked up toward the pathway and spied
something orange. I thought it might be a kid's ball or something. But when I
got closer and pawed away the sand, I saw that it was shiny. IT WAS A GLASS
FLOAT!

Aroo! Aroo! I found one!

Iactually found a glass float. It had a seal with a
year and number on it. I was one happy Coonhound. I brushed off the sand and
put it up on the big log so my owner could take a picture. It was a glorious
orange float and I, Cinnamon, was the owner!

Finders Keepers! Isn't it beautiful!

Leaving the Beach

I slept well that night on my big round cushy bed. We
decided that since we achieved our mission, to find a Glass Float, that we'd
leave as soon as it was light. We took one last walk on the beach at dawn and
this time I enjoyed the waves and water. I was finished looking for floats. I
had mine tucked away in my food bag, ready to take home.

We packed the car. My only regret was that the Looking Glass Inn office wasn't
open when I left. I thought I could beg for one last treat from the nice people
there. Fortunately I still had some left in the treat bag. I was so happy with
myself I even decided to share some with Francesca when I got back.

If you want to visit Lincoln City, check out the Visitors Bureau Website. There's plenty of
things to do there and they are very dog friendly.

Love, Cinnamon

Note: As is common in the travel industry, Cinnamon was
provided with accommodations and treats for the purpose of review. While it has
not influenced this review, the writer believes in full disclosure of all
potential conflicts of interest.

Also, there are some affiliate links in my story but you can easily figure out which ones those are!

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

You all remember when I had to have a bath, right? Well, one of the worst parts of that experience was having Francesca make fun of me. She told me I smelled like cheap perfume. She said I was a big baby and should smell like the hunting dog I am.

She made fun of me when I had a bath!

She ran around in circles around me when I came out in the yard to dry off and she barked at me. It seems like she was excited that I was the one having the bath and she wasn't.

It went on and on. So when we got back from our trip to the Village Cousins (formerly known as The Country Cousins), we picked Francesca up from the Doggie Country Club. And she was so dirty! I think she had been playing in the mud.

Francesca was jealous that I got to visit my Village Cousinsin their new home.

So when we got home my owner went easy on her. She allowed her to rest and to sleep on her dog bed, even though she was muddy. But the next day... Bwah ha ha ha! Francesca was told she was going to have a bath. Our owner ran the water in the tub and went to get Francesca. Francesca didn't want anything to do with the bath. So then our owner walked her down the hall by the scruff of the neck and put her in the tub. All the while I was watching and laughing! Bwah ha ha ha!

Francesca got scrubbed with perfumy soap and rinsed over and over. She was looking at me and her eyes said... "Help me!" But I walked away with a smirk on my face. This was my revenge!

Finally she got wrapped in towels and had to dry in the TV room because it was chilly outside. She was so happy the ordeal was over.

Here's Francesca after her bath.She was white again and smelled like cheap perfume for sure!

Thursday, November 9, 2017

I heard rumblings about having to get a bath before I travel
this weekend. So I decided to search the Internet and find out all kinds of
reasons why you SHOULD NOT bathe your dog (read: Cinnamon) in the winter. You
might say, it’s not officially winter yet. But today, it’s rainy and cold so to
me, it’s winter. Francesca and I are doing quite a bit of hibernating.

This is what I look like when I get a bath... MAD!

So what did I find on my Internet search? Well, not exactly
what I had hoped. Here’s the jist of the articles:

Rule
number one for bathing your dog during the winter is to
keep your dog indoors until they are completely dry. It is much more
difficult for your dog to maintain a warm ambient body temperature when
wet. Therefore, letting your dog outside during the winter months
greatly increases their risk of hypothermia.

Drat! So then I decided to try another
approach. I searched: Should You Bathe Your Older Dog in Winter? Then this
popped up:

Since
your dog will need to stay indoors during the winter until their
coat completely dries, bathe them first thing in the morning. This way,
they can dry throughout the day and by the early evening, they may be
ready for a walk outside.

Here's how to dry a dog. Please note: I'm still not very happy.

Drat! So I wasn’t getting anywhere
putting together a logical argument for not having a bath. It seems that there
are rules for dog baths in the winter, but no rule that says NO BATHS!